Paul Le Guen will be given an immediate transfer budget of up to £10m when he replaces Alex McLeish as Rangers manager at the end of the season. The Frenchman, whose arrival is a coup for the Scottish Premierleague club, will be handed much of the £18m that JJB Sports will pay Rangers in June as part of a £48m retail agreement.

Rangers' chairman David Murray yesterday flagged other important announcements in the coming days, with news on further external investment in the club possibly forthcoming along with information on Le Guen's backroom team and the players he wishes to sign.

"The JJB deal will be worth a lot of money to the club and, with the new manager coming in, it all adds up to better times for Rangers," said Murray. "We have the club in a good financial position and will have more announcements to make in the next week."

With the retail avenue now exploited, it appears media and sponsorship deals are the remaining means by which Rangers can raise significant funds. The club also hope to expand their stadium, and a casino development at Ibrox has been mooted in the past.

"We identified Paul last year," added Murray. "Alex has been made aware of every meeting and negotiation. But at this moment everybody must get behind Alex so we can finish second in the league."

Le Guen, who has agreed a three-year contract, will not be formally presented as the new manager until he joins the club in the summer with his assistant Yves Colleu. The fitness coach Joël Le Hir, formerly of Paris St-Germain, is understood to be part of the new coaching regime.

Le Guen has a sound track record of developing young players and may seek to overhaul the structure and personnel at Rangers' Murray Park training complex.

"I am looking forward to the challenge at Rangers," said the 42-year-old former Rennes and Lyon manager, who has spent this season working as an expert analyst for the French television channel Canal +. "I received a number of interesting offers from major clubs around Europe but this move to Scotland was the right one for me and my family."